segunda-feira, 31 de dezembro de 2012

This year we hadn't much of a fantastic traffic around but, still there are a few planes and moments that deserve some highlight, above the remaing traffic...

For me, the best moment of 2012 must have been, for sure, the oportunity to visit and photograph, for the first time, the cockpit of a Portuguese Air Force C-130 (16806) and adding to that, it was also the first time I photographed it in the new NATO grey livery...
Check it HERE

By the end of September Air Berlin brought D-ABDB, an hybrid with the OLT Express livery.
A really nice one!
Check that traffic HERE

Continuing with Air Berlin...in April, they brought the first A330 of the summer Season, D-AERQ
Check the entries regarding this HERE

An highlight also for the first (and only, until now...) A330 of the winter 2012 season for Air Berlin, D-ALPG
Check the entry and pics HERE

Air Nostrum also brought us some news. It's not a new company around but, this year they made the first flights from Madrid, bringing to Madeira, for the first time, the new CRJ-1000 (the first one was EC-LPN)
On this day, there was 3 Air Nostrum CRJ in a row, with some cockpit visits...
Chech the post regarding these pics HERE

Also, sadly, this year a regular airline around, shut down its doors...Cimber Sterling
Last time I photographed one of their planes was in February...
Check the entry HERE (including a review of all Sterling liveries I photographed)

Back to the Germans...Condor finally brought us their retro livery (A320), the D-AICA "Hans"
Check it HERE

Yet for Condor, the other highlight was their 767.
It wasn't the first time and they brought it a few times but still, quite rare around here (and only managed to get a few lucky shots on one of its departures...)
Check it HERE

D-ABUZ, taking off from runway 05

Local planes can also turn out to be something special.
Quite recently had the oportunity for some closer shots on locally based Hawker 900XP, from MadJet, CS-DPA
Check it HERE

And now, for something completely diferent...a debut at Madeira, the Holidays Czeck Airlines.
It made its premiere around here in October, taking a fligh previously operated by Enter Air.
OK-LEF, an A320 made this flight.
Check it HERE

The swiss Edelweiss also made its premiere at Madeira this year.
Unfortunately couldn't manage to get it and during the year, also got only a couple of times...
Too bad, it's an airline with a very nice livery...
Check one of those Sunday mornings HERE

Keeping with the swiss airlines, Hello was unfortunatelly another airline that went bankrupt...
Photographed, for the first time, one of their A320 back in May.
Check it HERE

Returning to the Portuguese Air Force, this month had, for the first time, the oportunity to make some decent fligth shots of a PoAF Falcon 50 (17401)...
Check it HERE

Back to the premiers, JetTime made its first flight to Madeira in October.
Not a great livery (and not many flights, from Norway) but still a diferent catch.
Check that premiere HERE (OY-JTV)

Continuing with the premieres, Lufthansa made its first comercial flights to Madeira in September.
(Currently with 2 weekly flights, on Saturday afternoons)
Check those pics HERE

Antonov planes are quite rare birds around here so, this An-26 had to make it to the list...
YL-RAJ, from RAF Avia.
Check it HERE

Continuing on the cargo theme, once again, the cargo plane and airline, making the daily cargo flights from/to Lisbon changed and this time it wasn't just the airline. They also changed the type with these flight beeing currently carried throuhg by West Air Europe with a BAe ATP....
Check it HERE

Thomas Cook celebrated its 10th aniversary with a special livery, on OO-TCH.
A very nice one. Check it HERE

Tuifly came around with a couple of nice special liveries.
The CEWE Fotobuch (D-AHFZ)...check it HERE and the harder to get (for me) ÜBÄRflieger (D-AHFR), check it HERE

I've been wanting to get the Saturday afternoon traffic for some time.
Last Saturday, made a quick 15 minutes stop at the airport, luckily enought at the right time to get the departure of one Lufthansa, the arrival of another and the departure of one of the NAX (Norwegian) flights...

Lufthansa's A320 D-AIZH taking off from runway 23 with the F/O filming

It's been quite a few months since I last photographed a NAX.
LN-NGD getting ready to push-back

quinta-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2012

Looks like the TAP Portugal privatization went to a rejected take-off as the Portuguese Goverment, decided not to sell the airline to the only contestant, the Synergy Group, held by German Efromovich...